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Table Mountain National Park – Stack Burning March and April 2016

Table Mountain National Park Fire Management will commence prescribed stack burning in Sun Valley, Blackhill, Capri Village and other sections of the park this month.

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PRESCRIBED BURNING IN TABLE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK DUE TO TAKE PLACE IN COMING WEEKS

07 March 2016: Table Mountain National Park is in the process of obtaining a burning permit to conduct a number of biodiversity burns in various sections of the Park. These prescribed burns will take place between March and April 2016 under favourable weather conditions i.e. temperatures under 25°C with moderate winds of less than 20km/hr and 2-3 days after light rain has fallen.
Although we appreciate that such burning is a source of concern to Cape Town residents it must be stated that wild fires will occur and an uncontrolled fire could pose a huge risk to life and property on the urban edge. Therefore the removal of dry flammable material by means of a prescribed burn will reduce the likelihood of these uncontrolled wildfires from occurring.

Fynbos vegetation is both fire-prone and fire-adapted and the use of fire forms an integral part of the ecological management of the park. TMNP Fire Management Department together with the SANParks Cape Research Centre has developed a scientific Prescribed Burning Plan for the entire park.

The reasons for conducting prescribed burns in fynbos vegetation are:

a) To reduce fire hazards by reducing the unnecessary “fuel” accumulated in field as a result of Alien Plant Clearing operations
b) To rejuvenate the fire-adapted and fire-dependent fynbos vegetation
c) To form an essential part of control operations aimed at eliminating invasive alien plants

Two areas within the Cape Point Section
Black Hill from Sun Valley to Glencairn
Roodeberg in the Capri Village area

Residents in the adjoining areas of the park should be assured that Park management will do their best to minimize any possible inconvenience to adjacent households during the preparatory work and burning operations. When the burn takes place, surrounding residents are advised to please keep their windows shut while burning takes place. Flammable items such as gas canisters should be removed from outside areas and laundry should be taken off washing lines to prevent odour contamination from the smoke. (pets, asthma)

All owners and occupiers of adjacent properties have a right to lodge written queries/objections to the proposed open burning with the City of Cape Town. Kindly direct all queries or objections to the City’s Air Pollution Control section on Tel: 021 590 5200 via fax to 021 590 5215 or via email to Bronwyn.Davidson@capetown.gov.za

How to tell the difference between a prescribed burn and a wild fire:
It is important to note that a prescribed burn will only ever take place under the conditions as described above. Prescribed burning will never take place on days with strong/gale-force winds, and will not take place over weekends or public holidays. Should you see a fire that does not describe the above conditions, please contact the TMNP Fire Management Department at 021 689 7438/9.